Studies in Geography
by Doctor Whoey
Summary: Set during the camping trip shown in Paradigms of Human Memory. Annie and Jeff are seperated from the group when tragedy strikes; will they be found in time? R&R and if you're an author I will return the favour! STORY IS COMPLETE, NEW CHAPTERS TO BE POSTED WEEKLY.
1. Chapter 1

"I cannot believe you lost the map," scolded Annie.

"And I can't believe you gave it to me in the first place!" he replied angrily. "Seriously Annie, you've known me for 2 years, did you really think that was a good idea?"

"I kept tripping trying to read the damn thing! Besides, I thought even you would be able to hold onto a map for longer than a couple of hours!"

"OK, let's just stop, we're going around in circles," he told her.

"… which we wouldn't be doing if you didn't lose the…"

"I MEANT the arguing!"

"Oh."

They stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Annie sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. Putting her head into her hands she asked "What are we going to do Jeff? We could be miles out from the others by now."

He was trying his phone again, but was still having no luck getting a signal. He'd been annoyed once arriving at the campsite to discover he couldn't dial out, but now he was pissed. "Whose bright idea was this whole thing anyway?"

"Don't look at me; I'd rather be at home studying for finals! Pierce was the one who was complaining that we hadn't included him in anything lately. I think Troy and Abed suggested the trip because they wanted to shoot something for a film later tonight."

"Oh of course it was the wonder twins!"

"Well no-one forced you to come Jeff!" yelled Annie, standing up to walk away.

"Didn't they? If I'd have said no then I wouldn't have heard the end of it!" he replied, turning away from her as well and bringing his attention back to his phone.

"Well, don't yell at me. Like I said, I'd rather be- AH!" she cried suddenly, holding her ankle as she hobbled to sit back down.

"Wow, she trips even when she's NOT reading the map," Jeff mumbled, not looking up, and maybe not sounding as concerned as he could have.

"Jeff!" Annie whined. "It really hurts."

Jeff sighed and looked up from the screen, feeling guilty once he saw her face. She really did look like she was in a lot of pain, and thought he saw her eyes filling with tears. He put his phone in his pocket and walked up to her, kneeling in front of her to get a better look.

"Ok, let me see," he asked, reaching out to take her shoe off. He was concerned when he had trouble pulling her foot out of her sneaker; it seemed like her foot had already swollen. "That was fast," he murmured. Pulling back her sock his heart nearly stopped when he saw the two neat puncture marks, less than an inch apart from each other. "Umm, ok…" he trailed off.

"What is it?" Annie asked, her face now buried in her arm to hide her face from Jeff; she was really in a lot of pain.

"I don't want to alarm you; that really is the last thing I want to do under the circumstances. But do you know anything about snake bites?"

Annie's head darted up to face his, her eyes red from the tears. She too looked at her ankle and there was no mistaking the marks. "Oh God Jeff," she exclaimed, looking into his face. She felt sick, though it was hard to tell if that was an effect of the venom or if she was just panicking. She shook her head to try and get her mind back on track. "Um, no. I mean, I know the basics but the general rule of thumb is to get the victim to hospital as soon as possible."

"You didn't see what kind it was did you?" he asked her, carefully undoing her laces as loose as he could in order to get her sneaker off.

"I didn't even realise it was a snake, did you see anything?"

The guilt was eating away at him, if he hadn't been ignoring her and looking at his phone he might have seen what kind of snake it was… maybe even stopped it from biting her. "No, I didn't see anything," he replied simply, focusing on the task at hand. He carefully slipped her shoe off, and was alarmed at the size her foot had already swelled. He had a sudden thought, and crouched down to a better angle.

"Jeff? What are you doing?"

"Sucking the venom out, hang on" he told her, but before he could get his mouth close enough she kicked him away with her good foot.

"Are you insane?" she cried.

"What? People do this all the time!"

"Yer, in movies Jeff. This is real life, not only will it do nothing to help me but you'll get yourself sick too!"

"Annie, if it slows the venom down by even 10 minutes I'm doing it," he told her slightly frantically, going in again for a second attempt. That's when she slapped him... hard. He pulled away holding his cheek, surprise and hurt evident on his face. Tears sprung to Annie's eyes as she pulled him in for a hug, which she was grateful he didn't pull away from.

"I'm sorry Jeff, but it just won't help," she whispered into his hair. They sat for a few moments like this, each enjoying the hug a little more than they should have, before remembering that they had a situation to handle.

"OK, so, most likely a rattlesnake don't you think? I think I heard Pierce say something about making sure we zip up our tents so they wouldn't get in," Annie said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Jeff took a moment to consider it, but shook his head.

"Wouldn't we have heard the rattle?"

"Well, we were being pretty loud," she replied quietly.

After a beat Jeff replied, "OK, so, our best guess is rattlesnake. Do you know what we need to do?"

Annie guided him through strapping her leg with his belt, not too tight that he cut off the blood flow but tight enough that he might help restrict the flow of the venom.

"OK, what next?" he asked.

"You're not going to like it," she warned him.

"Annie, 4 minutes ago I was willing to suck poison out of your leg, I'm pretty sure I can handle anything you throw at me."

"You need to leave me here and go find help."

"... except that."

Annie sighed, and looked up at Jeff from her sitting position on her rock. "Jeff, I can't move and you need to get me some help!"

"I am not leaving you here all on your own. That's it, discussion over," Jeff told her. "Now, is there a reason that I can't carry you?"

"Well, no, I guess not," Annie replied, not really wishing to disclose the reason she DIDN'T want that to happen. She could already feel her pulse speeding up and she didn't see how she would be able to keep her heart rate down when she was THAT close to him. Besides, the last thing she wanted to do was throw up on his chest. She didn't have much time to worry about that though as Jeff walked over to her and carefully lifted her from her rock and positioned her comfortably in his arms.

"See, was that so hard?" he asked her with a smirk.

Oh boy, you have no idea, she thought to herself as her heart skipped a beat.

"Hey, Annie, you ok?" Jeff asked, concerned when she didn't answer.

"Sorry, yes I'm ok. Nauseous though so go easy," she warned.

Jeff nodded, "Do you think you can watch my phone for a signal?" he asked her, using his knee to support her back while he used his now-free hand to get his phone out of his pocket. Annie nodded and took the phone, cupping it to her chest so she could watch it with ease. Once Jeff was satisfied that Annie was as comfortable as she was going to get he started walking through the trees, trying to think of the best way out of this mess.


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to remind everyone at the end of the last chapter, but if you review my story I will return the favor and review one of yours if you're a writer. THANK YOU to those who are following the story, I hope I don't disappoint you! And thank you to Hypnotoad76 for the review and the positive feedback! I recall reading a review on this site that someone didn't feel there were enough angsty Community fics so I thought I'd give it a go!**

**Also I don't own Dan Harmon. **

**Wait. No, that's not right. Community. I don't own Community.**

* * *

"Anything?" Jeff asked anxiously. He had been walking for over an hour and was still yet to find any familiar landmarks. His voice was hoarse from calling out to the group, and even though Annie was as light as a child his arms were starting to tire.

"No, nothing. Let's just stop for a moment. I think I can hear water," Annie replied weakly. She was so thirsty; all she wanted right now was to feel the cool wet substance running down her throat.

Jeff nodded in agreement and followed the sound of the stream, also grateful for a drink and a chance to rest. He found a nice little spot that would have been perfect for camping had the rest of the group been with them. He smiled sadly at the thought that they were probably worried sick by now. With any luck, he thought, they've called for help.

Jeff found a spot by the stream that would be perfect for Annie to rest on, and gently lowered her to the ground. He had noticed a while back that her eyes were drooping, and he tried vehemently to keep her awake and talking. Hopeful that some water would perk her up a bit he filled his canister and gave it to her for her to drink from. He settled for scooping the water into his mouth with his hand.

"God that's good," he said to no-one in particular, as he continued to drink. He didn't even realise how thirsty he was until Annie had suggested they rest. He was pleased to see that she too was gulping down the water, though that was short-lived when she leaned over to vomit. Jeff jumped up to pull her hair back, and rubbed her back while she expelled her stomach contents. Once she was done he handed her the canister again.

"Thanks for missing the water supply," he told her with a weak smile, which she reciprocated between sips.

"I'm just... grateful I didn't... do that on your shirt," she told him, out of breath and energy.

"It's ok, don't talk. Just small sips yer?"

She nodded and continued to drink, while he watched on concerned. It was obvious the venom was starting to take effect. She was paler and clammy, and could hardly lift her head.

"OK, so here's the thing... I think we should stay here."

"What?" she replied. "You're kidding right?"

"We're lost Annie, and I don't think I should move you again. The group would have noticed by now that we're missing and if they have ANY sense they would have gone for help. The more we move around the less likely it is that we'll be found."

Annie listened to his reasoning, and had to agree that it was their only option. As much as she wanted to keep looking for the group she had to admit the idea of moving again nearly brought tears to her eyes. She was aching all over, could barely keep her eyes open, and was fairly certain she was not done throwing up.

"You're right, let's stay here."

"Wow you MUST be sick if you're agreeing with me," Jeff tried to joke, though neither he nor Annie could muster a smile. "We'll be ok," he told her reassuringly, standing up. "I did a bit of camping when I was younger, I'm sure I can still light a fire with just a few twigs. We'll just camp out until the others find us."

Annie simply nodded and rested her head on the ground. Jeff pulled off his jacket and gently tucked it under her head, stoking her hair affectionately as he did. She was already asleep, and while the thought of her not waking up terrified Jeff he knew she needed to save her energy.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Despite feeling the warmth of the fire on her face, Annie was shivering. She opened her eyes slightly to find herself curled up in front of the fireplace, Jeff looking at his phone opposite her. It was dark so it must be at least 4 hours after they had lost the group, she calculated. She tried to lift her head but it felt like lead, in fact her whole body did. She let out a small groan of frustration, wishing she could just sit up and huddle in front of the flames.

"You're awake," Jeff breathed in relief, running his hand through his hair. He put his phone down and crawled over to her and felt her forehead. "You have a fever."

"If `at's the wors I git lez jus` be gra`eful for `at," she slurred, trying to sit up.

"Take it easy," he told her frowning, helping her. He reached for the water canister and handed it to Annie. "Drink this, it'll help," he instructed.

She frowned and shook her head slightly. She was so thirsty but didn't think she had the energy to deal with another episode of vomiting.

"Annie please, it'll help I promise," he begged. Again she shook her head, and this time tears started to fall from her face. Jeff's heart was breaking as he put the water down and hugged her to his chest. She couldn't hold it in anymore and broke into sobs, and Jeff rubbed her back to try and comfort her.

"We'll be ok, they'll find us, it'll be fine," he kept repeating, not sure at this point who he was trying to convince more. He took a moment to reach down and check her wound, which was very red and swollen. He dare not touch it because he knew it was still very tender; every time Annie inadvertently moved her foot she'd hiss in pain.

He estimated that she cried for around 20 minutes; eventually she calmed down and lay quietly against his chest, his shirt now soaked with her tears. Her breathing was laboured and he could feel her heart racing. "Do you remember," he started, "the time we got lost in that abandoned house?"

Annie nodded, "Abed n Troy thou` id was hauntd" she smiled at the memory.

"Just our luck to go out there on the night of a storm," Jeff laughed lightly, remembering Troy and Abed's impression of Scooby Doo and Shaggy. "I thought they would never want to leave once we found the revolving bookcase."

Annie looked up at Jeff's face, listening to him recount the tales from that night. She knew he was trying to get her mind off the bite but he just wasn't succeeding. It was getting harder to breathe, and all she wanted more than anything in the world was to be in her bed with some chocolate and her homework. She cosied up closer to Jeff's chest as he talked, allowing her eyelids to fall. If she was going to die, she decided, safe in Jeff's arms was the way she wanted it.

Jeff could feel what Annie was trying to do, and pulled her closer to him. She was now completely on his lap, the heat from her fever making Jeff sweat despite the cold of the night. He stopped talking when he noticed her eyes had closed. "Annie," he asked softly. Her only answer was to continue to gasp for breath; it was obviously getting harder for her to fill her lungs. Jeff felt her pulse and panic rose to his throat as he realised it was dangerously erratic, and couldn't help but let out a cry of anguish.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Did you hear that?"

"Sounded like an animal."

"No, I don't think so..."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jeff was well and truly panicking now, but without wanting to disturb Annie's sleeping form all he could do was scream.

"Help!" he cried, over and over. His tears were flowing now, he hadn't cried like this since his father left but the thought of losing Annie was more than he could bear.

"Jeff?" a voice cried out. At first he thought he'd imagined it, or that it was somehow an echo from the trees or an animal with a really bad cold.

"Jeff?" it called again, this time very distinctly in Troy's voice.

"Hey! Over here!" Jeff yelled, his voice cracking. He looked down to Annie and saw that her eyes were still closed and he gently shook her. "Annie, wake up, they've found us." She remained still though, so pale she could already be dead were it not for the rasping breaths coming from her throat.

Jeff lifted his head as he heard the trees rustle from just ahead, and wiped the tears from his eyes when he saw a man in Emergency Rescue attire come though the leaves.

"Help her, please," he begged, laying her on the ground for the man to check her vitals. Britta and Troy emerged from the bushes behind him, pulling various twigs out of their hair and clothes before seeing Jeff in front of them. Both screamed in joy and ran to Jeff with open arms, Britta crying as they embraced. Jeff enjoyed a few brief moments of relief with his friends before pulling away to bring his attention to Annie. The EMT was speaking into his walkie talky, something about a helicopter but Jeff was too upset to be listening to him.

"Oh my God Annie," Britta cried as she rushed to her friend. "What the hell happened?"

"Rattlesnake... bite," Jeff mumbled as he started to feel faint. The events of the last several hours had caught up to him, and tried as he might he couldn't help but collapse to the ground before being able to say any more.

"Jeff" he heard Troy cry before his world went dark, his final thoughts only for Annie.


	3. Chapter 3

**ARGH, I broke my promise! I'm so sorry for the delay in this post , I am totally the opposite of Batman. First I got Gastro during the busiest season at work all year, and then I had to try and catch up on all the work I missed! I'm still behind but I couldn't put this off any longer.**

**This is the final chapter… short and sweet. I was considering doing an epilogue if I'd gained enough interest but that hasn't happened sadly. Thank you to those supporters who have followed or favorited, I'm very grateful.**

**And I'm especially grateful to Hypnotoad76 who not only has an awesome username, but has reviewed each of these chapters. Hypnotoad is a fantastic writer everyone, and if you haven't read their stuff yet you are missing out!**

* * *

Jeff opened his eyes to whiteness. Great, I'm dead. And what do you know, heaven does exist, he thought to himself bleakly.

"Jeff?" he heard a small voice ask. He turned his head slightly and was relieved to see Britta by his bed.

"Hey," he replied, looking around the room. "Where are the others?"

"What, I'm not good enough for you?" she replied with a grin. She was holding his hand, and grasped it tightly. "Visiting hours ended an hour or so ago. Shirley went home to the boys and Troy went home with Pierce. The Dean practically had to be dragged out of the hospital but he's gone now too."

"What about Abed?"

"He's with Annie."

Jeff suddenly and quickly sat up at the mention of her name, but instantly regretted that decision when his head started pounding.

"What the hell Winger? Just lay down," Britta cried alarmed, gently pushing his chest back down to the bed.

"Is she ok?" he asked desperately, resisting her attempts to calm him down.

Britta smiled. "You know our Annie, she's not going anywhere."

He sighed in relief and allowed himself to lie back down on the bed.

"She's unconscious right now; they've been pumping her with drugs since the moment they brought her in. But they think she'll make a full recovery," she told him. Jeff simply nodded in response, taking it all in.

"Why does my head hurt so much?" he wondered suddenly.

"You collapsed and hit your head on a rock. You've been out of it pretty much the whole day. They reckon you can go home in the morning though."

"Nope, not going anywhere."

"Jeff…"

"I just meant that they can discharge me if they like, but I'm staying with Annie."

Britta sat for a moment, pondering this. "Jeff, it's understandable that after going through something like what you and Annie did you might suffer from something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Britta started. "It's normal to want to be around her, but you have to look after yourself as w-"

She stopped abruptly when Jeff lifted his index finger to her lips.

"Quiet now, sleeping," he told her simply, and turned over to his other side to feign sleep.

"Oh, yes of course. We'll talk more when you wake up."

"Can't wait," he replied dryly as he closed his eyes. He surprised himself by falling back asleep almost instantly.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Please sign here and here," the nurse at the station asked Jeff, pointing to various places on the form. He quickly filled it out, eager to go see Annie. Britta had gone home earlier that morning to shower and change so he was alone when the doctor came to see him and give him the good news; a nasty concussion, but otherwise fine.

After getting directions to Annie's room he took off, messaging the others on the way to let them know where he would be. Letting himself into her room he tiptoed to the side of her bed once he realised she was still asleep. Abed was quietly snoring from his chair in the corner, having stayed with her all night. Jeff smiled at the pair and leant back in his chair, watching Annie intently.

You never would have guessed that a couple of days ago she was fighting for her life; she looks so peaceful lying there, he thought to himself. He jumped when his phone vibrated, pulling him out of his reverie. He pulled it out of his pocket to see messages coming in from Troy, Britta and Shirley.

"The vibrate is louder than the ring," he heard Abed comment, and lifted his head to see him stretching in his chair.

"Sorry I woke you Abed," Jeff replied.

"It's ok. I'm glad you're alright," he told him, standing up and walking over to give him a hug. Jeff stayed sitting but returned it graciously, patting him on the shoulder.

"I should go; she'll be awake soon and you're here for her now."

"Thanks Abed… for staying tonight. I won't forget it," Jeff told him.

Abed smiled at him before picking up his bag and walking out the door. The room was silent again while Annie continued to sleep, and Jeff turned his attention to the multitude of messages he was now getting on his phone.

It was less than an hour later when she finally stirred. Jeff had put his phone down some time ago, and was resting his head on her bed, still tired despite the number of hours he'd slept. He was enjoying listening to her breathing, and was watching her face as she started to wake up. He sat up and brought his chair closer, holding her hand.

"Annie?" he asked gently. She opened her eyes groggily, and wiggled her fingers once she realised he was holding her hand.

"Jeff?" she asked, her voice croaky but strong, and Jeff sighed in relief.

"Yer it's me," he told her, holding her hand tighter.

"Are you ok?" she asked, opting to keep her weary eyes closed.

Jeff shook his head and scoffed in disbelief.

"You're asking me if I'm ok?"

"Yer, I remember hearing the doctor tell me you were unconscious."

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. How are you feeling?"

"Mm, I'm tired," she replied wearily.

"Try and go back to sleep," he told her gently, running his hand through her hair affectionately.

"I'm really glad you're ok," she told him, smiling, before she fell back asleep almost instantly.

He sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair, deep in thought. He could hardly believe she didn't even ask if she would be ok herself. He'd been fighting it for so long but he couldn't anymore... not after that.

Well that's it, he thought to himself with a small grin. I can't not love this girl.

With that decision made he felt a weight lift off his shoulders, and with a happy sigh he laid his head back down onto her bed and held her hand once more, determined to not let it go again.


End file.
